Darkside

Thirty-Nine

"Fuck you, Jack." Alisha's voice is sharp and commanding. "It isn't my fault you're a drunk who couldn't resist spilling your guts. That bitch can't be pissed off anyway. She's killed as well. You're both the same."

Dad murmurs something back, but I don't catch his words.

"No, neither of you are getting out of here."

I probably should open my eyes. Why can't I open my eyes?

"Because you don't deserve to live after what you've done, that's why. No, I don't think you deserve jail either. Certainly not Little Miss Precious Luvvie. I hate her. She is disgusting. My husband might've been a little shit, I'm not denying that, but she killed him. I've been getting close to you to find her for months and now I finally have her in front of me but I don't get any answers from her because she's passed out. Goddamn useless."

Oh God. I thought I was dead, I stepped off the damn ledge. Why am I here?

"I knew as well, that's the worst thing." Feet clip-clop around me. "I knew something was wrong with Cash. He was always a little off, but this was worse. I knew something was going on. I just didn't know it was a crazy stalker bitch who stabbed him to death. Stabbed him and threw him over the balcony in our home, as if anyone would believe it was a murder-suicide job. Laughable. She might've been 'missing: presumed dead' but I always knew she was just missing. Running. Especially after I saw all the conversations about her mommy. Huh, pathetic. Utterly pathetic."

A sharp stabbing pain heats up my side, but I don't cry out. A deep instinct tells me not to let Alisha know I'm alive just yet.

"Bitch. I wonder if she would've met Cash if you'd been arrested though, for what you did. And what did you do, Jack?" she sneers. "She was abusive with you, right? Always lashing out violently after a drink. You were a beaten husband and you didn't know how to handle it. So, one day, when she was beating you again, you lost it. You couldn't hack it anymore. You smacked her back and she fell. She fell and she didn't get back up."

This story is more painful than the kick. It's all too real, all too familiar. Seems I got traits from both parents, neither of them any good.

"So, you span a bullshit story and somehow, everyone fell for it. Well, aren't you proud of yourself now, huh? Aren't you glad you got away with it for so long? And you've spent your freedom well, haven't you? Raising a wonderful child while drinking yourself into an early grave. Wonderful. What a good job you stayed out of prison."

I hate this.

I know what my dad did...well, now I do. But still, I hate this.

What can I do to make this better?

Thing is I'm no good at making things better. Way worse, sure, I might as well be an expert in that, but better I can't do.

I'll have to dig down real deep, see what I can find.

"Let's go dig her up, shall we? Go find the bones of your wife, let your child finally see her mother at last. Maybe bringing this around full circle is what we all need. You don't want to, Jack? Oh, no, I can't believe that. You must want to see her after all this time. You must miss her."

My heart aches. I do want to see Mom, but not like this. Not as a bag of bones. Not when it'll get my dad locked up.

I've killed one too many times already, two too many times, but I might have to do it a third to protect the shitty bit of family I have left. To save the two people who definitely don't deserve it.

Is this irony or just bullshit? Who the hell knows? It hardly matters anyway. That isn't what I need to work out. I need to figure out how to take Alisha out before she gets even more dangerous than she already is.

After all, she isn't here for a nice chat, is she? She hasn't unburdened my father of his biggest secret because she cares.

No, she either wants us both behind bars or in the ground. Probably the latter. Particularly for me. If I was the only one at risk here, I might take it because it's what I deserve, but it isn't.

I shouldn't have come back here. Of course I shouldn't have come back here. I should've left my father alone and allowed him to carry on with his life. Alisha wouldn't have stuck around forever.

But I didn't. I didn't because I'm an idiot and now we're all going to suffer for it.